Illini Iceman

Neifi should have a big night.

Even that game winning sac fly was pretty weak. They were darn lucky to have Cedeno beat the throw.

Agreed. That was a great opportunity to have a big inning, no reason not to have someone as hot as Murton up there. He didn't look so hot last time Dusty let him bat with the bases loaded.

FWIW the "reject" Borowski they signed when the Cubs released him since then has pitched better than anyone in the Cubs bullpen except possibly Dempster. Borowski has not given up a run yet in 10 appearances. The walls will probably come crashing in on him soon, but at this point it looks like the Cubs should have released Remlinger instead of Borowski. Borowski's velocity wasn't where it needed to be and he was leaving the ball up in the zone. He was getting hammered. DFA'ing him was the right thing to do. It's nice to see him doing well in TB, but I'm not sure he would be real successful pitching in any meaningful games. The Red Sox, White Sox and Orioles probably thought the games against them were "meaningful". Bottom line is he is getting guys out while Mitre, Remlinger and Wuertz are not. To me that makes it a bad decision, especially when they had options available to send Mitre or Wuertz back to AAA.

FWIW the "reject" Borowski they signed when the Cubs released him since then has pitched better than anyone in the Cubs bullpen except possibly Dempster. Borowski has not given up a run yet in 10 appearances. The walls will probably come crashing in on him soon, but at this point it looks like the Cubs should have released Remlinger instead of Borowski.

As much as I would be interested in that happening, Boras says: "That's a good one Jim. I think you'll reconsider if you ever want to sign any of my clients, or any clients in general, after I tell the media about your shenanigans." One of which happens to be Carlos Zambrano.

I agree that the above seems like the most likely scenario. If the Cubs can not stay in contention then it will probably lead to more playing time for Murton so they can evaluate whether is a viable option as the starting LF next year.

What do you mean by an unnecessary duplicative bat? To me it seems like they are both speedy guys with fairly good OBP. I thought that was what the Cubs needed more of to go with the power bats of ARam, Burnitz, Lee and Walker?

His ERA in July was just barely over 3 coming into today and he has a bad inning so you bump the thread? And now his July ERA is over 4. You can find all the obscure stats you want, but the painful fact of the matter is that he's no longer a good pitcher. The only painful thing is having to read you chime in with a negative post whenever he struggles. Notice you didn't bumpity bumpity bump after he put up 8 innings of 2 run ball in his previous start.

IMO the only way Neifi comes back next year is if he is brought back as the starting SS. I am not in any way supporting the Cubs doing that, but he has had a good enough year that one of the small market teams will offer him a 1 year contract for reasonable pay and give him the every day job. All indications from Neifi are that he still considers himself a starter, so as much as he may love Dusty and appreciate the chance Hendry gave him, he would most likely bolt to another team if Nomar or another top notch SS is signed by the Cubs in the offseason.

I agree with that except I would prefer Lawton in LF and replace Murton with Hairston as the CF batting 8th. Murton can get some spot starts filling in for Lawton and Burnitz. The way he looked with bases loaded the other day scared me a little. They threw him three straight breaking pitches and he was not close to any of them. I think he has been fortunate with some scratch hits so far and needs a little more seasoning before I would put him in LF every day. If the Cubs fall hopelessly out of the race by September then give him an extended look.

His ERA in July was just barely over 3 coming into today and he has a bad inning so you bump the thread?

I think Hendry will get Kearns sooner or later. He may not do it today, but Kearns would probably get through waivers anyway and it may even be an offseason move. When Hendry likes a guy (e.g. - Barrett, Burnitz) he usually eventually finds a way to get him. i don't think there's any way kearns makes it through waivers to the cubs Maybe you are right(though stranger things have happened when teams put a lot of guys on revocable waivers as a smoke screen), but I still think Hendry keeps pursuing him into the offseason.

I think Hendry will get Kearns sooner or later. He may not do it today, but Kearns would probably get through waivers anyway and it may even be an offseason move. When Hendry likes a guy (e.g. - Barrett, Burnitz) he usually eventually finds a way to get him.

Wuertz could also be an option to send down. I agree with Weurtz being sent down. He's having a hard time right now and needs to get his confidence back. Ok, we could send Wuertz along with Novoa, Cedeno, and Mitre. If we send all four down, I want Jermaine Van Buren and David Aardsma called up. I want to see David Aardsma's awesome knucklecurve! JVB isnt on the 40 man. Which brings up the point of what we are goign to do when Nomar and Williamson come off the 60 day DL. By my count that puts us at 41 on the roster. I could easily see Hendry trading either Holly or Grieve for a mid level (non 40 man roster) prospect to a contender that needs a LH pinch hitter for the stretch run. It makes no sense to have Gerut, Holly and Grieve all on the 40 man when they are essentially the same type of player.

Spoken with the pessimism that only a lifetime Cubs fan looks at his baseball team with :D The Cubs realize that Kerry can't be an effective starter this year, but I think Hendry will look to the farm system (ie Hill, especially given his start today) rather than trade for a starter. I'd be surprised if Nomar will be 100% at any point this year, but given the black hole of baseball talent that is Neifi Perez, having Nomar in the lineup even at 70% will be a significant upgrade at shortstop. Whether or not it will be the catalyst to us putting together a strong two months is questionable though. Thanks, I've seen too many things go awry for the Cubs to expect any other outcome. My outlook is hope for the best but, expect the worst. The most frustrating aspect of this is Hendry really believes their return is like a block buster trade. He's made several comments about their pending return along with the "we're not going to make a trade for the sake of trading" line. So you prefer he does make a trade just for the sake of trading? This year seems like a bad buyers market. Everything I have seen so far is either adding a guy that won't make much of a difference (eg - Kearns) or paying way to much for the few top quality players being made available. Personally I don't think even adding Ramirez would ensure getting this team over the top so it doesn't make sense to give away some of the top young players in the system. Unless a real good deal becomes available for Hendry I would rather he just keep the team as it is and hope that some guys catch fire and allow the team to squeak in as the WC. If not, there should be plenty of money available in the offseason to retool and put a team together that can make a serious run in 2006.

A five man rotation will suffice, but I know what you mean. :wink: It's complicated enough as it is. If Hendry makes a move, it'll get even more complicated. I agree it'll be a toss-up between Wuertz and Novoa. My guess is that Wuertz will be sent down. Wuertz has been brutal. Williamson (if healthy) will be a great upgrade and then Wuertz can come back in September when the roster expands.

Macias has been pulled? :shock: Wonder where he's headed? Macias was a scratch? Rotoworld said yesterday that the Cubs were going to rest Aramis' sore quad the rest of the weekend. Ramirez said in his post-game interview that he was going to be ready to go for today. And you believed Ramirez over Rotoworld? :wink:

I want it to happen, you want it to happen, but we all know that it won't happen. The organization seems to like the guy as a 25th man. Yeah, the guy hitting .283 off the bench is just killing this team. If Macias was used like a 25th man should be it wouldn't be a problem. He comes into games way too soon. It probably only seems that way. At 92 AB's through 103 games it would be hard to play him much less. Everyone says Cedeno is rotting on the bench but he has 50 AB's. I don't know what his total games have been on the active roster but I would think that his AB's as a percentage of games he has been on the team are higher than Macias. Not sure about that - someone would need to check the numbers. Macias has 99 PA's in 103 games. Cedeno has 53 PA's in 54 games. The percentage is just about the same. So Cedeno's is the same or barely higher yet the perception is that Cedeno has been left rotting on the bench and Macias is used too much to be considered a true 25th man.

I want it to happen, you want it to happen, but we all know that it won't happen. The organization seems to like the guy as a 25th man. Yeah, the guy hitting .283 off the bench is just killing this team. If Macias was used like a 25th man should be it wouldn't be a problem. He comes into games way too soon. It probably only seems that way. At 92 AB's through 103 games it would be hard to play him much less. Everyone says Cedeno is rotting on the bench but he has 50 AB's. I don't know what his total games have been on the active roster but I would think that his AB's as a percentage of games he has been on the team are higher than Macias. Not sure about that - someone would need to check the numbers.

I want it to happen, you want it to happen, but we all know that it won't happen. The organization seems to like the guy as a 25th man. Yeah, the guy hitting .283 off the bench is just killing this team.

Gathright. Phelps was released quite a while ago. Gaithright really seems like a speed only guy. He is not very good defensively and with his limited offense I think the is going to be a bench type player. The injury to Baldelli was bad for the Rays since he uses a year of eligibility and all signs are that he can't wait be be a FA and get off this team. It is not quite fair to say that Piniella won't play Upton. The guy is awful defensively and they are trying to get him another year in the minors to see if there is any hope of him working out defensively as a SS. Unfortunately he is destined to be a DH IMO. If this deal goes through it would be good for the Rays since Ramirez allows them to move Upton to DH and not worry about developing him as a SS and also clears a spot to bring up Young now to play every day because he looks ready. Cantu could move over and be the starting 3B next year.

First, laying it on the rookies has been working out pretty well for Bobby Cox and the Braves, hasn't it? Second, how are the rookies supposed to "step up and do the job" if they don't consistently get to play because somebody has to play the "proven veterans"? Thats Bobby Cox and the Braves, not the Cubs and Dusty Baker. The Brave's farm system for some reason is very good at preparing young players for the majors. And, yes, a balance does need to be struck between playing rookies and veterans, so the rookies can get playing time to prove themselvs. All I'm saying is not to through them in there without experience. Its a recipie for disaster for them and the team. Settle down, my man. I encourage you to take the time to read the other posts carefully. Most of the longtime posters here have already given lots of facts to support their arguments so that we when they restate their position on a subject we already know where they are coming from. You are certainly free to state your own opinions here but be careful about attacking long-time members here when you have not taken the time to do your homework about them. I think when you browse this forum you will realize that very few are anointing rookies as saviors or handing them everyday jobs to do with as they please. To be specific, people here are not suggesting Murton be the everyday LF, we just want him to play because he is the hot hand right now and would probably be able to contribute more towards the Cubs winning. In the end that is what Cub fans want the most. Maximize the Cubs' chance of WINNING. You need to calm down. I'm not angry, or anything, I'm just explaining my point. If said long time posters disagree then they can take the time to explain why. I don't have endless ammounts of time to read every post in NSBB history to determine what everbody's feeling is on a specific issue. Once again I'm not angry, I don't know why you think I am. But don't expect me to go back and research every poster's position on every subject over that poster's last 1000 or so posts, just so I can be deemed worthy to comment. I don't have the time. If you think I'm wrong, TELL ME WHY! Don't tell me to respect my "elders". If you are a Dusty fan with the current mix of regular posters you are always going to get shouted down. And don't even think about saying anything good about Macias or Neifi. In the game threads when the Cubs win there are always a bunch of posts saying how they were so lucky to win in spite of Dusty's bad moves (even if they worked out). If Neifi or Macias get a hit in a key spot there is the obligatory statement about how it kind of sucks because now Dusty will never stop playing them. The beauty is that you won't just get replies disagreeing with you, but also impying how little you must understand about baseball if you don't agree. When Dubois was the flavor of the month the anti Dusty crowd was laughing about Dusty's theory of picking spots for him to succeed and were insisting that if he played every day instead of Holly he would produce. When Dubois did get the chance his numbers faded. Now that is all forgotten and the same argument is going on about Murton. Fact of the matter is that the current manager is always going to be subject to a lot of criticism on message boards so if you like him you need to have thick skin. This is still the best Cubs related board around and a great source of information and debate. Enjoy!

That screen name is just wrong. :evil:

I agree - if Nomar is back he will play at least 4 games a week until he is 100% healthy. There is no way Hendry or Baker would let him rot on the bench. If it costs anyone playing time it might be Walker against LH pitching, but that would be a shame. I hope they just give Neifi 1 or 2 starts a week at SS to keep Nomar healthy and maybe use him as a defensive replacment as needed.